The “Phillips Connect 300 at the 1/8” club was only started last season. According to the NHRA, hitting the 300-mph mark was one of the last goals for race teams in the 11,000-hp nitro categories – at least, one of the last goals deemed achievable safely and controllably. For his achievement, Salinas will receive a $30,000 bonus. The next driver to hit 300 mph in the eighth-mile will get $13,000, and the third one to do it, $9,000. The program is open to ten competitors in total.
It’s difficult for any driver who hasn’t competed in racing at this level to comprehend hitting 300 mph in 660 feet, and comparisons can’t even be drawn to the quickest road cars. Take the 1,025-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170, for instance, which is “only” traveling at an NHRA-certified speed of 151.17 mph when it clears the quarter-mile – it takes double the distance to reach half the speed that Salinas did.
